Over the past decade there has been considerable growth in the interest shown by policy makers, researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders in work-integrated learning (WIL). This chapter will describe the development over the past decade of the discourse on work-integrated learning, and explore the implications for assessment and quality assurance, and for the future of university education. The first part of the paper (Sections 1 through 5) deals with the current context for the interest in work-integrated learning (WIL), examines the defining characteristics of this curriculum strategy and explores implications for assessment and quality assurance practices. The second part is a discussion and critique that identifies the limits of current thinking drawing on the notion of the ‘ideological university’ and posits a remediation for consideration.